Nintendojo’s Wishlist for 2015

A new year means a new 12 months of anticipation and expectations for our favorite video game consoles. In the case of Nintendojo, we’re busy wondering what Wii U and 3DS have in store for 2015. There are some things on the horizon that we already know about, like Splatoon and wave three of Amiibo, but there are plenty of mysterious unknowns– some of which no one knows that they don’t know! Sorry, got a little Inception there. In any event, we’ve put together a list of things we here at Nintendojo hope will be revealed in 2015. From games to toys to hardware, the following is our dream (within a dream) list of things we want from Nintendo.

1) Amiibo Wave 4

It’s inevitable that there will be a fourth wave of Amiibo, given the outlandish success the line has enjoyed thus far. What form the fourth wave will take, however, and how it will be disseminated is the real mystery. Nintendo has been sticking with the lineup for Super Smash Bros. for inspiration so far, mimicking that game’s signature Trophies for each Amiibo– which is cool, but with the toys proving to be irresistible, it stands to reason that Nintendo could afford to be a bit more adventurous with the the line.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker has been confirmed as a future Amiibo-compatible title (following a software update, of course), so why not start by churning out some figures tailored specifically to that game’s cast? Imagine how adorable a Captain Toad, Toadette, and Shy Guy trio of Amiibos would be! A Yoshi’s Woolly World Amiibo, a clay Kirby Amiibo for Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and so on. It would bring some more variety to the line and further draw attention to the games that will be offering Amiibo support.

One thing, though, Nintendo– get rid of the retailer-exclusive Amiibos. It serves no other purpose than to frustrate fans by sending them on a late 90s/early 2000s Rare-worthy fetch quest of epic proportions just to have a complete collection. Also, get that stock up to snuff. People shouldn’t be getting bludgeoned by greedy online vendors charging an arm and a leg for hard to find Amiibos. The toys are barely a couple of months old, it shouldn’t be this difficult for consumers to buy the things, especially considering that Nintendo isn’t going to be offering all the figures again in the future.

2) The Return of Metroid

This is becoming the perennial dead horse to beat, but it will be five years since Metroid: Other M dropped on Wii when the sun rises this coming August. That’s way too long to go without a game featuring Nintendo’s third most important franchise, and hopefully 2015 is the year fans finally get some respite from the Samus drought. Given the bad taste that the aforementioned Other M left in players’ mouths, however, it might behoove Nintendo to pull out all the stops for Metroid’s return.

When Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion launched, both games arrived at the same time, offering new and classic gameplay, along with cross-platform interaction. In brief, it was a Metroid explosion that satisfied series fans of all stripes. If Nintendo could deliver Wii U and 3DS Metroids together in a similar fashion, it would be a huge nod to fans and a very compelling way to get new players into the fold. Whether on handheld or home console, Samus needs to step from the shadows this year.

3) More Colors, More Memory

Wii U is seeing a sales boost from the releases of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros., but that doesn’t mean more can’t be done with the console itself to maximize consumer interest. Sleek and stylish as the black Deluxe model is, Wii U could stand some new color variants being thrown into the mix, even if only offered with special bundles. More importantly, though, is the console’s memory. 32-gigs really isn’t much to play with for those who download a lot of games. With the eShop truly hopping with incredible titles to play, the wealth of indie and third-party games will lure in plenty of buyers– until they run out of space on their hard drives.

Today’s games take up quite a bit of memory, especially AAA releases which clock in at multiple gigs, all on their own. For the average consumer, even 32-gigs is too stingy to house anything but a handful of AAA and indie titles (not to mention Virtual Console games). A 250-gig hard drive should be standard for Wii U. It’s enough to keep anyone but the most diehard of gamers happy for a long stretch of time, and with the price of memory continuing to drop, it seems like a feasible financial commitment for Nintendo to make. If it helps consumers buy more digital games, the investment would pay dividends in the long run.

There is currently the option to buy an external hard drive (I got a 2-terabyte drive for my Wii U), but there’s no reason to add that extra hoop for consumers when a much simpler solution is available, especially considering how specific the types of hard drives are that can work with Wii U. Places like Best Buy don’t generally offer the models Nintendo recommends, forcing consumers to order what they’re looking for online or through other means. If any old external could be plugged in, this point wouldn’t be as valid, but as it stands, Nintendo has memory issues that will be more problematic further down the road and the more games released.

4) Virtual Console Reload

So, cheers to getting Game Boy Advance games on Wii U. Their presence has been more than welcome, and despite seeming like an odd addition (bringing handheld games to a home console), it actually works quite well. That being said… enough is enough. Bring Game Boy Advance games to 3DS where they belong. Along with DS games, which are supposedly heading to Wii U’s Virtual Console at some point this year. Seriously, Wii U before 3DS for DS games? Crazy talk!

The rest is the usual (unfortunate) cries for Nintendo 64 games, the return of Sega Genesis, Neo Geo, and arcade titles, and since we’re being ambitious, let’s get all that stuff on 3DS’s Virtual Console, too! There really isn’t any reason that both systems couldn’t have the same games running, so… make it happen, Nintendo! When people offer to throw money at you, don’t ask questions, just snatch and grab. Give us EarthBound on a handheld, and we’ll give you sweet, sweet moolah, Nintendo.

5) More New IPs

New games from established developers don’t come all that frequently. Nintendo has opted to bring fans two new IPs in 2015 in the forms of Splatoon and Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., but let’s be greedy and ask for more. Some folks like to peg Nintendo as being all-Mario, all the time, but the reality is that the company has graced fans with quite a few new series since the GameCube era (even a few before then, but I digress): Pikmin, Chibi-Robo, Rhythm Heaven, Animal Crossing, and more. Nintendo’s consoles are better places to game when the old is mixed with the new, and hopefully there will be a lot more original titles on the way in the near future.

That said, it would be nice to see Nintendo branch off into unfamiliar territory with any new games it might make. A true first-person title would be a good place to start. The Metroid Prime trilogy showed that Nintendo can make a great FPS (Geist did too, frankly), but to establish an entire new franchise around the genre would be a breath of fresh air. Considering Nintendo would undoubtedly do something different with an FPS, that should give fans even more incentive to want to see it.

Perhaps another untapped genre that could yield some impressive results would be a visual novel type of game. Nintendo’s storytelling is some of the best in the business, yet the company doesn’t often focus on it. Were Nintendo to take a stab at something cut from the same cloth as Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton, who knows just how entertaining it could be. If Miyamoto’s Pikmin shorts are any indication, Nintendo is more than prepared to put the focus on story over straight gameplay.

6) Let’s See That Quality of Life Initiative

Finally, Nintendo’s much talked about Quality of Life Initiative is something that everyone has been curious about, if for no other reason than to simply know exactly what it is. So far, the company has revealed that there will be some sort of sleep monitoring device, but as for the rest… nothing. 2015 seems like the perfect time to do exactly that, and get people pumped about getting pumped! Or whatever it is Quality of Life will have folks doing. It would seem beneficial to peel the curtain back sooner rather than later, considering a lot of people want to focus on getting healthy around the new year, after all.

What are you hoping Nintendo will unveil this year? Have you been longing for Virtual Boy Virtual Console games on 3DS? Sound off in the comments!

A Prime+Fusion-style revival of Metroid would be as welcome now as it was then. What I’m most keen to see is whatever Retro is up to. I hope it’s Meroid U, but something all-new or their take on F-Zero or even another Donkey Kong would also be a complete joy. Retro is the new Rare! :^)

I would go on and on about how much more the Virtual Console could be, as I do in each Club Nintendo survey, but it seems silly to even hope at this point.

A bundled or built-in hard drive is a no-brainer, and something the Wii U should have always had. Then again, I have a few (tech-savvy!) friends who stick to discs for retail games, so maybe it’s not as vital as someone like me would imagine.